its a variety of reasons why it would seem that way. the different standards in each state as someone mentioned, as well as the immigration (mostly illegal) counts for a large number of "uneducated" people.

then theres also Bush's no child left behind program, which basically allows the even the slowest of children to graduate.

This is going to sound bitchy, though that honestly isn't my intention. Do any of you have a direct connection to the administration of the American educational system? Any of you teachers or principals or educational research analysts? Because the soundness of American education, be it primary or secondary, is a really, really, really super complex issue that stretches into things that I never would have considered had I not been so ensconced within that system. It's not a matter of spending - the DC public school system is pretty indicative of that. It's not a matter of standards, either, since skill mastery is expected from younger and younger children. It's not teacher training, since American standards are not nearly as lax as they have been painted. It's not indifference. Every politician, from presidents on down to county council reps, is expected by his or her constituents to have the answers when it comes to education policy. This is a big country. Each state makes it own rules. Within each state exist individually managed counties. To boil down the country's failures and successes into a single correct diagnosis is, well, damn near impossible.

As for international comparisons, let's get real. Education is different from, say, military weaponry in that teachers are always willing to share their secrets with each other. American educators do "look at other nations". You just might not see it. For an early childhood educator to tour the Italian town of Reggio Emilia is like winning the professional credibility lottery. Go look up "Fulbright Program" on Wikipedia and see what the reality of the situation is. Furthermore, certain aspects of the American education system are held in such high regard as to receive their fair share of visiting foreign dignitaries. My mother is an administrator in one of the largest county school systems in the country and gave presenations and tours to the Ministers of Education from Denmark and Japan in the last year. The Japanese plan to return to observe her progessive ESOL program as an inspiration for their own school systems.

And what about all the dismal factoids about the dumbness of Americans? I have my doubts. Who's the source? What do they stand to gain? Education has a lot of money sunk into it, as the jerkoffs behind DIBELS will attest, and is no more immune to smoke-and-mirrors scheming than the business world. It was a huge worry to the Reagan administration that the Japanese consistently ranked well above American children in mathematics, which led to "A Nation at Risk" and the current focus on achievement gaps/standards-based reform/etc. Why did the Japanese rank so much higher? It was more of a cultural difference. They taught math as rote memorization, which helped them score higher in the short term. Americans emphasized critical thinking. Though this approach meant lower scores in the short term, it emphasised creativity and ingenuity, which is of greater value in American society.

yeah they DUMB Americans + Israel = bunch of dumb rats.
They only knows destroy,chaos and rape. Just yer wait for the time,when I joined the war kill these dumbs with my own hand.A word to you AMERISRAEL = dumb.

Nobody is scared of you little boy

Anyway, I believe when all is said in done, it is up to the student him/herself, to determine how well they do, regardless of funding or even lackluster teaching, if a person wants to learn the material bad enough, they will despite any of those so called "limitations", I attend a high school that many describe as a hell on Earth, with old books, indifferent teachers and students, dilipidated facilities and equipment, etc, the only thing worth having pride in is our Varsity football team (number 2 in the state)

and yet me and many other students in that school obtain above average grades, while most of the other kids sitting right beside us, are flunking hard, due to their own apathy and laziness

yeah they DUMB Americans + Israel = bunch of dumb rats.
They only knows destroy,chaos and rape. Just yer wait for the time,when I joined the war kill these dumbs with my own hand.A word to you AMERISRAEL = dumb.

Nobody is scared of you little boy

Anyway, I believe when all is said in done, it is up to the student him/herself, to determine how well they do, regardless of funding or even lackluster teaching, if a person wants to learn the material bad enough, they will despite any of those so called "limitations", I attend a high school that many describe as a hell on Earth, with old books, indifferent teachers and students, dilipidated facilities and equipment, etc, the only thing worth having pride in is our Varsity football team (number 2 in the state)

and yet me and many other students in that school obtain above average grades, while most of the other kids sitting right beside us, are flunking hard, due to their own apathy and laziness

i due believe it is up to the individual. fuck the myopic masses! they are like a disease or a hoard of locust, spreading like wild fire. and despite what those anti-americans think, no singular country or nation is exempt.

i due believe it is up to the individual. fuck the myopic masses! they are like a disease or a hoard of locust, spreading like wild fire. and despite what those anti-americans think, no singular country or nation is exempt.

This is going to sound bitchy, though that honestly isn't my intention. Do any of you have a direct connection to the administration of the American educational system? Any of you teachers or principals or educational research analysts? Because the soundness of American education, be it primary or secondary, is a really, really, really super complex issue that stretches into things that I never would have considered had I not been so ensconced within that system. It's not a matter of spending - the DC public school system is pretty indicative of that. It's not a matter of standards, either, since skill mastery is expected from younger and younger children. It's not teacher training, since American standards are not nearly as lax as they have been painted. It's not indifference. Every politician, from presidents on down to county council reps, is expected by his or her constituents to have the answers when it comes to education policy. This is a big country. Each state makes it own rules. Within each state exist individually managed counties. To boil down the country's failures and successes into a single correct diagnosis is, well, damn near impossible.

As for international comparisons, let's get real. Education is different from, say, military weaponry in that teachers are always willing to share their secrets with each other. American educators do "look at other nations". You just might not see it. For an early childhood educator to tour the Italian town of Reggio Emilia is like winning the professional credibility lottery. Go look up "Fulbright Program" on Wikipedia and see what the reality of the situation is. Furthermore, certain aspects of the American education system are held in such high regard as to receive their fair share of visiting foreign dignitaries. My mother is an administrator in one of the largest county school systems in the country and gave presenations and tours to the Ministers of Education from Denmark and Japan in the last year. The Japanese plan to return to observe her progessive ESOL program as an inspiration for their own school systems.

And what about all the dismal factoids about the dumbness of Americans? I have my doubts. Who's the source? What do they stand to gain? Education has a lot of money sunk into it, as the jerkoffs behind DIBELS will attest, and is no more immune to smoke-and-mirrors scheming than the business world. It was a huge worry to the Reagan administration that the Japanese consistently ranked well above American children in mathematics, which led to "A Nation at Risk" and the current focus on achievement gaps/standards-based reform/etc. Why did the Japanese rank so much higher? It was more of a cultural difference. They taught math as rote memorization, which helped them score higher in the short term. Americans emphasized critical thinking. Though this approach meant lower scores in the short term, it emphasised creativity and ingenuity, which is of greater value in American society.

lol if you dont belive americans are dumb then you have to watch this vid they are ignorant fat and think they control the world and idc if this vid is real or not atleast its funny lol http://youtube.com/watch?v=fJuNgBkloFE ohh and no offence to anyone lol

i would say the average american is less intelligent than let's say the average British person. But i hesitate to say all americans are dumb. I do think the high school system is idiotic, and that it's almost pathetically easy to get through high school. College in America is very good, though its a tad expensive. Then again, there are lots of scholorship schemes and such. Really, i think their high school system needs a major overhall, perhaps go with and IB or A-level/GCSE system. Universities need to be subsidised more, with better financial help. In the UK, you can get student loans and everything like 0% interest. I don't know if they have that there...